September 02, 2009

25 Pounds of Tomatoes {and canning pasta sauce}

After canning pasta sauce as a work assignment, I decided it was absolutely necessary to do at home. 25 pounds of tomatoes later, I had fresh tomato sauce and several cans of simple tomato sauce to enjoy. Read on for the story, or scroll down for the recipe.

Seemingly, a work assignment involving a very large garden with a lot of tomato plants and several days spent canning everything tomato (ketchup, crushed tomatoes, sauce, and whole tomatoes) would deter most people from continuing to can tomatoes during time off at home.

An affirmative reply was quickly rendered, and I made plans to pick up my tomatoes from the Wednesday afternoon King Street Gardens Park Farmers Market. When I arrived for the tomatoes, I only planned to buy about ten pounds.

Calvin scoffed at this idea. "10 pounds? You should really get more like 20-30."

Having never been one who avoids purchasing excess produce, I agreed. The 25 pound box of tomatoes (all for $12) was so heavy that I was unable to carry it to my car without assistance.

When I arrived home, the tomatoes found a nice cozy spot on a kitchen chair making my husband ponder what on earth I had gotten into now.

The next morning, I woke up early and got my supplies ready. Canning takes time and careful preparation, and most importantly a zealous belief in sanitation.

With this in mind, my first steps are always to get my glass jars out, and to separate the jars from the lids and rings. The jars can be sterilized in the dishwasher (mine cycles for around two hours), while the lids need to be sterilized just before processing the cans.

The next step is to set up the following equipment:

a pot of boiling water

a large bowl filled with ice and cold water

a large cutting board and knife

a discard bowl

a strainer perched atop another bowl

a large stock pot for making the sauce

Since my recipe calls for two chopped onions, I decided to get all that chopping out the way before getting my hands into the tomatoes. Once the onions were chopped, they went right into the large stock pot and softened up so that they were ready when the tomatoes joined them in the pot.

With the onions out of the way, the assembly line began.

Each tomato first needs to have its skins removed. The easiest way to do this is to blanch them for about one minute in boiling water. . .

And then plunge them into an ice water bath for at least the same amount of time.

Next, the skins easily slide off into the discard bowl.

At this point, I like to cut them in half to remove the core and the seeds.

After the skins, cores and seeds were removed, my tomatoes went into a strainer set atop another bowl. This allowed the excess juice to strain out-- a process that takes around thirty minutes. The juice can be saved and reused in other cooking.

Messy, messy tomatoes.

Finally, after straining all those tomatoes and simmering them with the onions and spices for over two hours, I processed them in a water bath for 40 minutes.

The end canned result canned was a simple pasta sauce which I doctored up to make even tastier with a little fresh basil, garlic, and grated parmesan.

Canned Pasta Sauce:

Note: Be sure to read and follow all instructions carefully. Safe home canning requires careful adherence to guidelines and the use of properly sterilized equipment.

Ingredient List

20 pounds of tomatoes

2 onions, roughly chopped

1/4 cup sugar

2 TB dried oregano

2 TB salt

2 TB pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Equipment List

1 stockpot

1 smaller pot

6-8 pint sized canning jars

1 pair of jar lifters

1 cutting board

2 large bowls

discard bowl (another medium- large sized bowl)

1 strainer

1 large canner

funnel

Prepare the ingredients

Have ready and set up: a cutting board, one large bowl filled with an ice and cold water, and one large bowl with a strainer set on top of it. I also like to keep a discard bowl handy for the tomato skins, cores, and seeds.

Chop the onions and place in the large stock pot. Warm over medium heat until they are softened. If necessary, add water to prevent sticking. Important: Do not add oil! Once onions are softened, turn off heat and wait for tomatoes to be added before continuing to cook. DO NOT add other vegetables or garlic to the recipe as it will change the pH level of the tomatoes and increase the risk of contamination.

In the meantime, fill the smaller pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, begin blanching the tomatoes in the boiling water. After one minute, immediately transfer the tomatoes to the ice bath (they should stay in the ice bath for at least one minute).

Bring the tomatoes to the cutting board and peel off the skins. Cut the tomato in half and carefully remove the core. Cut each half in half (quarter) and remove the tomato seeds. Place each tomato quarter into the strainer set over a bowl. Allow tomatoes to strain for about thirty minutes to remove excess juices (this will help your sauce thicken better).

Note: At this point, some people like to puree the tomatoes in order to have a smoother sauce. I prefer a thicker sauce with tomato chunks, so I keep the tomato pieces in quarters and break them up while the sauce is simmering.

Add the strained tomatoes to the large stock pot. (Tip: You will have to do this in batches because the amount of tomatoes is so large. I keep an assembly line going to increase the efficiency of the process.)

Once all tomatoes have been added to the stockpot, add the sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring from time to time. Allow to simmer for 2-3 hours, until the sauce has thickened to your likeness.

Preparing the canning equipment:

Once the tomatoes begin processing, it is a good idea to get the canning equipment ready.

Most importantly: it is essential that everything you are using is clean and sterile.

I like to sterilize the canning jars in the dishwasher, and since the cycle takes around 2 hours, it works out perfectly with the timing of the sauce.

The jar lids and rings can be sterilized by running boiling water over them. This should be done right before the sauce is processed in the boiling water bath canner.

Make sure all of your kitchen surfaces have been cleaned and sanitized of any tomato seeds and pulp that may be leftover from working with the ingredients. Set up your water bath canner on the stove top, fill it with water and bring to a boil.

When your sauce is ready, place your sterilized jars on a clean kitchen towel. Place a funnel over the jar mouth; ladle sauce into the jar leaving 1/2" head space. Carefully wipe off any excess sauce which may have gotten on the jar rims. Seal each jar with a lid and ring, tightening them just past the point of resistance. Repeat this with the remaining jars and sauce.

Process all jars in a boiling water bath canner for 40 minutes.

Remove from the canner using jar lifters (this will really help prevent burns- believe me) and set on the counter undisturbed for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, check the seals to make sure they are firmly shut. The seal should not move at all when it is gently pressed down on. Any jars that did not properly seal should be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Garlic-Basil Pasta with Parmesan

I enjoy pasta sauce so much that I didn't process all of my tomato sauce in mason jars. I just couldn't wait to eat it.

Instead, I kept about four cups of sauce in the stock pot. I simmered the sauce a little longer, then added some of the ingredients I couldn't during canning: two crushed cloves of garlic, some fresh basil, and a little olive oil. This delicious sauce was spooned over a heaping bowl of pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

And now, whenever I pop open a jar of my homemade sauce, I can look forward to a delicious bowl-- just like this one.

Comments

25 Pounds of Tomatoes {and canning pasta sauce}

After canning pasta sauce as a work assignment, I decided it was absolutely necessary to do at home. 25 pounds of tomatoes later, I had fresh tomato sauce and several cans of simple tomato sauce to enjoy. Read on for the story, or scroll down for the recipe.

Seemingly, a work assignment involving a very large garden with a lot of tomato plants and several days spent canning everything tomato (ketchup, crushed tomatoes, sauce, and whole tomatoes) would deter most people from continuing to can tomatoes during time off at home.

An affirmative reply was quickly rendered, and I made plans to pick up my tomatoes from the Wednesday afternoon King Street Gardens Park Farmers Market. When I arrived for the tomatoes, I only planned to buy about ten pounds.

Calvin scoffed at this idea. "10 pounds? You should really get more like 20-30."

Having never been one who avoids purchasing excess produce, I agreed. The 25 pound box of tomatoes (all for $12) was so heavy that I was unable to carry it to my car without assistance.

When I arrived home, the tomatoes found a nice cozy spot on a kitchen chair making my husband ponder what on earth I had gotten into now.

The next morning, I woke up early and got my supplies ready. Canning takes time and careful preparation, and most importantly a zealous belief in sanitation.

With this in mind, my first steps are always to get my glass jars out, and to separate the jars from the lids and rings. The jars can be sterilized in the dishwasher (mine cycles for around two hours), while the lids need to be sterilized just before processing the cans.

The next step is to set up the following equipment:

a pot of boiling water

a large bowl filled with ice and cold water

a large cutting board and knife

a discard bowl

a strainer perched atop another bowl

a large stock pot for making the sauce

Since my recipe calls for two chopped onions, I decided to get all that chopping out the way before getting my hands into the tomatoes. Once the onions were chopped, they went right into the large stock pot and softened up so that they were ready when the tomatoes joined them in the pot.

With the onions out of the way, the assembly line began.

Each tomato first needs to have its skins removed. The easiest way to do this is to blanch them for about one minute in boiling water. . .

And then plunge them into an ice water bath for at least the same amount of time.

Next, the skins easily slide off into the discard bowl.

At this point, I like to cut them in half to remove the core and the seeds.

After the skins, cores and seeds were removed, my tomatoes went into a strainer set atop another bowl. This allowed the excess juice to strain out-- a process that takes around thirty minutes. The juice can be saved and reused in other cooking.

Messy, messy tomatoes.

Finally, after straining all those tomatoes and simmering them with the onions and spices for over two hours, I processed them in a water bath for 40 minutes.

The end canned result canned was a simple pasta sauce which I doctored up to make even tastier with a little fresh basil, garlic, and grated parmesan.

Canned Pasta Sauce:

Note: Be sure to read and follow all instructions carefully. Safe home canning requires careful adherence to guidelines and the use of properly sterilized equipment.

Ingredient List

20 pounds of tomatoes

2 onions, roughly chopped

1/4 cup sugar

2 TB dried oregano

2 TB salt

2 TB pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Equipment List

1 stockpot

1 smaller pot

6-8 pint sized canning jars

1 pair of jar lifters

1 cutting board

2 large bowls

discard bowl (another medium- large sized bowl)

1 strainer

1 large canner

funnel

Prepare the ingredients

Have ready and set up: a cutting board, one large bowl filled with an ice and cold water, and one large bowl with a strainer set on top of it. I also like to keep a discard bowl handy for the tomato skins, cores, and seeds.

Chop the onions and place in the large stock pot. Warm over medium heat until they are softened. If necessary, add water to prevent sticking. Important: Do not add oil! Once onions are softened, turn off heat and wait for tomatoes to be added before continuing to cook. DO NOT add other vegetables or garlic to the recipe as it will change the pH level of the tomatoes and increase the risk of contamination.

In the meantime, fill the smaller pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, begin blanching the tomatoes in the boiling water. After one minute, immediately transfer the tomatoes to the ice bath (they should stay in the ice bath for at least one minute).

Bring the tomatoes to the cutting board and peel off the skins. Cut the tomato in half and carefully remove the core. Cut each half in half (quarter) and remove the tomato seeds. Place each tomato quarter into the strainer set over a bowl. Allow tomatoes to strain for about thirty minutes to remove excess juices (this will help your sauce thicken better).

Note: At this point, some people like to puree the tomatoes in order to have a smoother sauce. I prefer a thicker sauce with tomato chunks, so I keep the tomato pieces in quarters and break them up while the sauce is simmering.

Add the strained tomatoes to the large stock pot. (Tip: You will have to do this in batches because the amount of tomatoes is so large. I keep an assembly line going to increase the efficiency of the process.)

Once all tomatoes have been added to the stockpot, add the sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring from time to time. Allow to simmer for 2-3 hours, until the sauce has thickened to your likeness.

Preparing the canning equipment:

Once the tomatoes begin processing, it is a good idea to get the canning equipment ready.

Most importantly: it is essential that everything you are using is clean and sterile.

I like to sterilize the canning jars in the dishwasher, and since the cycle takes around 2 hours, it works out perfectly with the timing of the sauce.

The jar lids and rings can be sterilized by running boiling water over them. This should be done right before the sauce is processed in the boiling water bath canner.

Make sure all of your kitchen surfaces have been cleaned and sanitized of any tomato seeds and pulp that may be leftover from working with the ingredients. Set up your water bath canner on the stove top, fill it with water and bring to a boil.

When your sauce is ready, place your sterilized jars on a clean kitchen towel. Place a funnel over the jar mouth; ladle sauce into the jar leaving 1/2" head space. Carefully wipe off any excess sauce which may have gotten on the jar rims. Seal each jar with a lid and ring, tightening them just past the point of resistance. Repeat this with the remaining jars and sauce.

Process all jars in a boiling water bath canner for 40 minutes.

Remove from the canner using jar lifters (this will really help prevent burns- believe me) and set on the counter undisturbed for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, check the seals to make sure they are firmly shut. The seal should not move at all when it is gently pressed down on. Any jars that did not properly seal should be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Garlic-Basil Pasta with Parmesan

I enjoy pasta sauce so much that I didn't process all of my tomato sauce in mason jars. I just couldn't wait to eat it.

Instead, I kept about four cups of sauce in the stock pot. I simmered the sauce a little longer, then added some of the ingredients I couldn't during canning: two crushed cloves of garlic, some fresh basil, and a little olive oil. This delicious sauce was spooned over a heaping bowl of pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

And now, whenever I pop open a jar of my homemade sauce, I can look forward to a delicious bowl-- just like this one.